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Video: Guess Which County Has Idaho's Highest Crime Rate

No, neither Ada nor Canyon counties have the highest crime rate in Idaho—it's the eastern Panhandle county of Shoshone that tops the list.

KREM-TV reports that statistics from the Idaho State Police indicate Shoshone County, with a population of about 2,600 and including the cities of Wallace and Kellogg, has the highest crime rate in the state. Shoshone County Sheriff Mitch Alexander said that, unfortunately, the ranking is pretty accurate.

"There were times when you had a lull in [police] calls," Alexander told KREM-TV. "But that's not the case anymore. We're busy all the time."

In particular, Alexander points to a recent spike in thefts, burglaries, drug abuse, domestic battery and child abuse. But he cautioned that Idaho's Silver Valley is still a great place to live.

"I think the impression is that this is going to be a plagued, crime-ridden place," he said. "But in reality, it's really not."